Click Your Heels
by taylyn10
Summary: Daniel wants to help his team complete a family ritual.


Title: Click Your Heels

Author: taylyn10

Feedback: Always welcome!

Category: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team, Friendship  
Rating: PG for a couple of bad words  
Date: September 2, 2007  
Season/Spoilers: Season 10  
Synopsis: Daniel wants to help his team complete a family ritual.

* * *

_Notes: This was written for an AO list challenge. The story needed to include Daniel in the basement, Jack, and Cassie. Thanks so much to Ren for the bunny!_

* * *

No matter how you look at it, it's been a terrible day. I'm tired, I'm frustrated, and I've worked until I can't see the computer screen in front of me. To top it all off, Jack just called from Washington. He's coming into town for our annual shopping trip with Cassie. We take her out each year to go back-to-school shopping. We did it the first time the year after Janet died because we needed Cassie to know someone was there for her, and because we needed to be with her. We'd gone together, all of us, Jack, Sam, Teal'c, me and Cassie. We'd gone for lunch, picked up the requisite notebooks and pencils, folders with cartoon characters on them, and a brand new pair of shoes. I don't know why, but for some reason Janet always bought Cassie new shoes for the first day of school, and that first year we kept the tradition alive even at the cost of some tears on Cassie's part, and Sam's part, and mine. It ended up being a great day, one we've repeated every year since. 

Cassie's now in college and no longer needs anyone to go school shopping with her (I don't suppose she needed anyone even the first year), but she humors us just the same. We always start the day with lunch at a nice restaurant, we always end it with new shoes for Cassie. Cassie gets to pick the lunch--we get to pick the shoes. One year Sam talked us into buying her a really expensive pair of walking shoes. One year, at Jack's insistence, we bought her a pair of hiking boots. One year Teal'c wanted lime green Cons. As for me, I think she should have a pair of shoes with heels on them (she is a girl after all) but I've always been shot down, especially by Cassie who's given me a lecture on sexual stereotyping that would have done her mother proud.

Now that Jack's in Washington we've had to be a little more creative in the planning, but he insists on coming home for the event. Last year he flew in the night before, stayed at my place, ate, shopped and went back, all in the space of twenty four hours. He's going to do the same thing this year, come in early in the morning, shop, stay overnight with me, and go back tomorrow. But the trip is as important to him as it is to the rest of us, and he's never missed.

Jack's phone call, reminding me to pick him up at the airport tomorrow morning, ended with him ordering me to go home along with some insult about the fact that I sounded like a...well, I won't repeat that part. Just because I have a cold doesn't mean I'm sick. I don't mean that. I am sick, just not sick enough to go home. I have work to do—as Jack well knows—and I want to go out tomorrow with a clear conscience, not with stacks of paperwork on my desk waiting for me to come back to them. I promised him before he hung up that I'd think about it, going home I mean. I did. And I decided to stay. Right up until Sam showed up with Teal'c in tow. They lectured me, as per Jack's orders I'm sure, and I managed to ignore them. After all, I've had years of practice ignoring the two of them. Then I realized that Jack intended to play dirty. Mitchell and Vala came in ten minutes later. Vala draped herself over my keyboard so I couldn't type while Mitchell fiddled with every artifact he could find. He's been taking lessons from Jack. At that point, I coughed once, sneezed once, grabbed my coat, and went out the door. I can cope with one of them at a time, but not when they double team me—twice.

Now that I'm home, I'm glad I finally left the office. When I got to the car and realized I hadn't been outside in days. I don't think I would have known what day it was if Jack hadn't called to remind me about his flight. I know I wouldn't have missed shopping with Cassie because Sam and Teal'c would have come to get me, but it's a little disconcerting that I didn't even know what day it was.

We've been busy—I've been busy. As the expert on the Ancients, my expertise, linguistic and otherwise, is in demand. We don't have anywhere near enough people on the base who read Ancient, and while I've been training people as fast as I can to fill the void, it isn't enough. Add to that I'm still on a first contact team, and some things can't be given to someone who isn't an expert...well, you get the picture. That sounds arrogant. It's not. No one knows the Ancients like I do. Up close and personal. In the non-corporeal flesh. At lot of memories from my ascension have come back to me in glorious Technicolor detail since my possession by Merlin, and that makes me even more of an expert. I haven't told the others about that yet. For one, it's been a lot to take in, a lot to take it in. For another, I've been too busy with work, like the translation for SG9 that's sitting on my desk. I'll have to go in tomorrow after we're done with Cassie and finish it. Right now, though, I'm going to get something to eat and head to bed. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning. It's bad enough having everybody at work nag at me, I don't want Cassie to join the fun. When she does it, she sounds just like her mother.

I've had cough medicine and Tylenol but it doesn't seem to be helping. I can't sleep. I've tossed and turned for the last three hours because every time I get settled, I cough, or I can't breathe. I've moved to the couch in the living room so that I can prop myself up on pillows. I turned the TV on thinking that maybe it would take my mind off my cold long enough for me to fall asleep. Sadly, even inaccurate specials on King Tut's tomb can't distract me enough to let me rest. Every time I drift off, I cough. The last time I coughed so hard I thought I'd fall off the couch. My chest is tight and I know I have a fever. I feel so bad I'm tempted to head back to the mountain, but if I do that, I could end up in the infirmary. That would mean that I'd miss Jack and Cassie. I'll tough it out for one more day and then I'll go in and get checked out. After I've finished the translation for SG9.

I finally give in and get up. Since I can't sleep no matter where I am, I might as well get ready for morning. I'm taking Jack out for breakfast before we pick up the others at Sam's. There's a little diner down the street that makes the best pancakes in town and great coffee, even though the thought of either one makes me a little green at the moment. Jack likes the hash browns and the great service. The waitresses there still know us even if we're not in for six months. I think that's because Jack's been in wearing his dress blues, and he's kind of hard to forget after that. Or it could be because of the very early morning we were in after we'd been drinking most of the night. I don't remember much about that day but the waitresses told me we left them a big tip. In any case, we always go there for breakfast when he's in town. I've taken Vala there. She says it reminds her of Sal's diner, the place she worked when she lost her memory. She liked the food, but she didn't want to go back. I can understand that.

I miss him. Jack. Still. I thought after a couple of months, I'd get over it, but I didn't. I haven't. I like working with Mitchell, much more than I ever thought I would. He fits well with SG1. He's smart and funny. He's dedicated and principled. I don't just like working with him, I like him. It surprises me, actually, that I like him, but I do. We hang out together, sometimes the whole team, sometimes just the two of us. He speaks a few languages besides English and we've had some pretty interesting linguistic discussions in our off time, not something I could ever imagine doing with Jack, no matter how much I love the guy. But he's not Jack. He's got his own unique place on the team, but he can never replace Jack. Bless him for never trying to.

Vala, of course, is a whole different thing. She won't be categorized or regulated. Jack's told me on more than one occasion that she reminds him of me. I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to be insulted or not. No, I take that back. I'm sure. I'm insulated. I'm nothing like Vala. She talks all the time, she's constantly interrupting, she's strong willed, she's pig-headed, she never listens to orders unless she's...Okay, fine. Maybe were a little bit alike, but Jack doesn't need to rub it in every time we talk. He thinks it's funny that Vala's on the team. He keeps talking about getting his revenge and I'm not sure what he means by that since he's not even at the mountain anymore. Anyway, neither of them is Jack and I'm not going back to the mountain until I've seen him. Cassie's still close by, an hour away at the university, but because of her schedule and mine we don't get to see one another anywhere near enough. So I'm not going to the mountain until I've seen her too.

Now that my illness and I have that straightened out, I'm going to go get my stuff ready for morning. I'll get my clothes out, and then have a shower and cool off. I'm so hot, I'm sweating. It's the fever acting up. If I get back to couch after my shower, I could still catch a couple of hours sleep before I need to get up and drive to the airport.

I can hear voices over my head, muffled and soft but there. I'm trying to look around and get my bearings when I remember that my glasses are still on the chest of drawers in my room. I came down to the basement to get some clothes out of the dryer. I want my clean jeans and one special shirt. It's the tee shirt Cassie gave me for Christmas last year, the one with her school logo on it. We all got one, and we're all going to wear them to lunch. I don't remember much about coming downstairs except that it felt like I was hiking down the side of a mountain. My legs ached and I was sweating so badly I thought my hands were going to slip right off the railing. I must be more tired than I thought. Now I'm cold, shivering and shaking. I'm also on the floor at the bottom of the steps and the cement is cold on my backside. I'd like to go back to the living room to turn the TV off and stop the voices that are niggling in my head and making my headache worse, but the stairs look endlessly tall. I'll...I'll get my shirt, and maybe there's a sweatshirt in the dryer that I could put on to keep warm until I can get upstairs and into the shower.

First, I need to stand up. I reach over to grab the post at the bottom of the stairs and rest my throbbing head against it until I can maneuver myself to reach for the railing. My hands have lost their grip. They keep slipping down the post. I'm on my knees now, panting and breathless, but not coughing. That's good. The medicine I took last night must finally be kicking in. I don't know how long I was lying on the floor before I woke up, but it must be time to get Jack. I need to get dressed. I finally pull myself up onto my feet. The dryer's at the other end of the room, miles away. Why did I put it so far away from the steps? Maybe the next time Mitchell's over I'll ask him to help me move it. I can make out the white blur against the far wall but to get there, I need to let go of the railing. Suddenly, I know if I let go of the railing, I'm going to end up on the floor again. I calculate the distance to the floor as best I can, trying to decide the safest way to get back down because my legs are shaking so badly I can barely stand. The trip to the floor isn't going to be an easy one, especially since the floor is moving. Then the voices above me get louder. A shaft of light comes down the stairs. For a moment, I think it's Oma come to help me until I remember she's off somewhere fighting Anubis. Then it goes dark.

* * *

Oh, God. The next time I'm sick, somebody remind me to leave the TV off. The voices are drilling into my head. I groan and roll over to find the remote I know I left on the coffee table. I'm stopped by a hand on my chest. 

"Don't think I'd do that if I were you."

Jack? "Jack?" My voice comes out as a croak.

"Right here. How ya doin'?"

"I...um...I was going to pick you up at the..." My voice breaks off when I start to cough again. It hurts deep in my chest and I can feel Jack pulling me up to a sitting position while I hack up a lung. I'm leaning against him and he's got a hand on my back to steady me. When I finally stop coughing, I look up to see a cup of something in front of my face.

"Hi, Sam." My voice now is barely a whisper.

Sam looks worried—and angry. "Why didn't you tell us that you were this sick before you left last night?" Jack's helped me sit, pushing the pillows up behind me so I can lean on them. I'm still trying to catch my breath.

I take the cup from her, trying not to let my shaking hands show, and sip on tea with honey, blessing the warmth of it on my throat. For once, I'm not complaining that it isn't coffee. "Wasn't this sick last night," I manage to say.

She sits on the coffee table looking at me. "And what were you doing in the basement when you should have been in bed?"

I'll take that as a generic complaint because I know she saw the blankets on the couch. I'm covered with them now. I take another sip of tea letting it slide down my throat. "I was getting my laundry. Now that Jack's here we need to go get Cassie for lunch." I notice that they're both wearing their school shirts. "I'm just going to grab--"

Jack's hand is on my chest again. "You're just going to stay put." Jack says.

"I'll go get your shirt so that you're dressed when Dr. Lam gets here, but you're not going anywhere," Sam says, standing. I hear the basement door open and her footsteps on the stairs.

"Dr. Lam?"

"We called Lam from the airport. Once Carter said you went home sick last night, we put two and two together. She's on her way over. Scared the shit out of me when we couldn't find you." Jack's hand is still on my chest and I can see the worried look in his eyes.

"Couldn't find...Oh! I was in the..." I wave at the door Sam's just gone through.

"Yeah, we figured that out...eventually."

I finish off the tea, grateful that for the moment it's taken the edge off my coughing. "I suppose we missed breakfast?"

"Closer to brunch now. The next time I'm in town we'll--"

His words are cut short by a knocking at the door. Jack gets up to open the door and lets in pandemonium. Dr. Lam's here, as promised. With her are Teal'c, whom I should have known to expect, Vala, and Mitchell. And Cassie. It seems that they called Cassie from the airport as well, and she showed up right behind half of the SGC. They're all talking at once, including Sam who's standing at the top of the basement steps with my shirt in her hands. Carolyn wants to know what's going on, Jack's telling her that they found me passed out at the bottom of the basement steps, Sam adds that I've been coughing so bad I can't breath, and the next thing I know, they're all hovering over me.

"Daniel, are you all right?" Cassie asks. She's got her hands on her hips in a way that reminds me so much of Janet, it's scary. Everyone's ranged behind her, including Dr. Lam who's assessing me even from three feet away.

In self defense I pull the blanket up under my chin. "I'm fine," I say, trying to slink down into the couch. Unfortunately, the movement sets off another round of coughing. I feel myself being pulled into a sitting position again, this time by Carolyn.

My coughing starts everyone talking again until Carolyn orders then all from the room. When I can finally breathe, I look up to see Carolyn sitting facing me on the couch. Jack's sitting on the coffee table, and oddly enough, Cassie's beside him. Everyone else has been banished to the kitchen.

"I'm fine," I wheeze looking first at Jack and Cassie, and then at Dr. Lam.

Carolyn's been calmly emptying her bag while I've been coughing. She's got the stethoscope out and she's warmed the bell in her hand.

"Daniel, have I ever told you what a wonderful linguist you are?" she says and then asks me to take a deep breath.

I'm a little startled by the question, and for a moment I forget that I'm going to need to argue with her to convince her that I'm fine—at least fine enough to go shopping with Cassie, who's looking at me like I'm about to die on the spot.

"No," I tell her, and take a deep breath as ordered. I cough again, but not as much this time.

"You're also a very fine anthropologist," she says moving her stethoscope and repeating her instructions to take a deep breath.

I do so. "Thank you," I say.

"And an archaeologist," she says. "I understand you're an extraordinary archaeologist." She's moved the bell of the stethoscope to my back. I'm wondering where she's heard this from.

"I even understand from Colonel Mitchell that you're a very good man to have beside you in the field."

By this time I'm blushing and Jack's grinning from ear to ear. Even Cassie looks more at ease.

"Um...thank you," I say again, unsure of where this conversation's going.

"Several advanced degrees from what I understand," Carolyn continues. She's put away her stethoscope, and she's getting something ready in a syringe. "But there's one thing you're not."

"And what would that be, Doc," Jack asks.

"You're not a doctor," she says, tapping the side of the syringe.

"But I am," I blurt out. "I have--"

"You're not a medical doctor," Carolyn corrects herself as she rubs an alcohol swap on my arm. "I, however, am a medical doctor, and I'm here to tell you, you are not fine." On the "fine" she jabs the needle into my arm.

"Ouch!" I glare at her while I rub the sore spot on my arm.

"I like her," Cassie says, finally relaxing completely.

"I figured you would," I say, turning my glare on her. She just grins back at me.

"What did you give him, Doc?" Jack asks, watching Carolyn put her things back in her bag.

"Something to help him breathe. I'm pretty sure he's got pneumonia, and that should hold him over until I get him back to the infirmary. I'll need to do some--"

"No." I'm not going to the infirmary. Not today.

"Excuse me?" Jack and Carolyn say it at the same time, and in the back of my head I wonder who else Jack has been giving lessons to.

"I'm going to lunch with my friends, and I'm going shopping. I am not, under any circumstances, going to the infirmary." I'm relieved that I got through that whole spiel without coughing because I think the speech would have lost its effectiveness if I had.

"Uncle Daniel," Cassie starts. I know she's trying to wheedle me into doing something she wants me to do because she never calls me Uncle Daniel anymore unless she's trying to manipulate me. Most of the time it's okay because Cassie can talk me into almost anything. But not today.

I don't look at her as I say, "I'll come back to the infirmary as soon as we're done shopping. I promise. But I'm going to lunch and out for the afternoon with Cassie first." I've never crossed Carolyn before, at least not seriously, and I think she's a little surprised by my attitude.

"Dr. Jackson, there's no way you should be anywhere but the infirmary."

"I'm not going." I'm not missing this chance to see Jack. I'm not missing this chance to carry on a family tradition. If Carolyn thinks I'm going back to the infirmary willingly, she's got a lot to learn about Dr. Daniel Jackson. I suppose she could sedate me or something, but I don't think she'd do that. I'm pretty sure she won't do that.

Jack breaks the silence. "How about a compromise?" He looks at all of us expectantly.

"Go on," Carolyn says, "I'm listening."

"We'll go out to eat, together." His gesture includes Carolyn and Cassie. "Then we'll bring him back to the SGC. We'll finish up shopping with Cassie after we drop him off."

"That's a good idea," Cassie agrees. "Come on, Uncle Daniel."

I know it's a good offer, and under the circumstances, I know I should capitulate gracefully. The truth is, I feel terrible, and I want nothing more than to lie down and sleep. Whatever it was Carolyn gave me, it's making me kind of groggy.

"We could go to that little diner near here," Cassie says hopefully. "Uncle Jack was telling me about it this morning on the phone, that the two of you usually have breakfast there. Unless it would be--"

"I'd love to have breakfast there with you, Cass. Or lunch, or whatever it is at this time of day."

Cassie smiles and takes my hand. A few minutes later we've worked out the details. I've insisted on a compromise of my own. I don't want Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Cassie coming back to the mountain with me when I go. I want them to get their shopping trip in and I'm afraid if they come to the mountain, they'll end up canceling it. Carolyn's also compromised. She's letting us go out to eat without her. I suppose she knows that nothing can happen to me with SG1—and Jack—around. Vala and Mitchell are going to stay at my house as well and wait for me. Mitchell says there's something on TV he wants to watch, and I know Vala will simply ransack the place while I'm gone. I'm going through the mental checklist of things I should be worried about. I shiver.

"You okay?" Jack asks.

"I'm thinking of Vala in my house."

"You want me to send down a security detail to keep an eye on her?"

"No, but maybe you could have her searched when we get back to the mountain."

They're good people, my team. They know that this is an "old" SG1 thing. We invited them to come, of course, but they made excuses to behind so that we could have this moment with Cassie before she goes back to school. When I go out the door with Cassie on my arm, I can see Mitchell on the couch, covered up with my blanket which is covered in my germs. He's got his feet on the coffee table and the remote in his hand. Vala and Carolyn, for some unknown reason, are going through my kitchen cupboards. I yell at Vala to leave the good china alone. She gives me a wave over her shoulder without turning around. I go out and close the door behind me.

Lunch is the most fun I've had in ages, even if I'm not quite awake enough to enjoy it. Like I suspected, the waitresses remember us. They get us a big booth in the back where we can visit undisturbed. Teal'c and Sam have Cassie tucked in between them on one side while Jack and I take the other. He's on my right by the wall. He makes me sit on the outside so that if I cough, I can cough at the other patrons and not at him. Whatever Carolyn gave me, it's good. The only time I cough more than a little to clear my throat is when Cassie tells me she's taking an anthropology class this fall. I'm so excited I try to talk too fast and end up coughing until I'm red in the face. Cassie laughs and says, "Yes, Uncle Daniel, if I need help with my homework, I know who to call."

That starts a animated and lengthy conversation about what Cassie should be studying in school. Even Teal'c contributes his two cents worth telling Cassie that he understands that most colleges offer courses in film studies which he thinks would be very educational. Sam, of course, wants Cassie to focus on the sciences, and Jack thinks she should find time for some calculus classes. I'm telling her to focus on the humanities, pointing out that anthropology is only the beginning.

At some point Cassie looks up at us and says in exasperation, "Would you guys stop? It's like having four parents!" She goes back to her hash browns and pancakes then, and we go on to other subjects. Jack looks at me, and I see the small smile on his face. I know just what he means. It's one of the nicest things Cassie's ever said to us. We talk about plans for Christmas which includes all of us getting together over the holidays if we can. Cassie's kept in touch with Janet's family. She's going to spend part of her Christmas break at her grandmother's house with her other aunts and uncles, but when she gets back to town, we're going to have Christmas again, SG1 style. Sam's offered to host this year. Jack's going to book his plane reservation as soon as we set a date, and we're going to invite Mitchell and Vala to join us. If time permits, I think Mitchell will go home to visit his folks in Kansas, but Vala might enjoy it. She's always interested in learning new cultural references. What could be better for that than Christmas?

As much fun as this is, I know I'm about done for the day. Now that I'm not coughing, I'm so tired I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open. All through breakfast, Jack's kept his left hand on my arm. He moves it occasionally to wave his arms about while he talks, or to fill the tea in my cup (no coffee--I promised Carolyn) but his hand always comes back to rest on my arm. I don't even think it's conscious on his part. It's just his way of checking up on me. I know Sam and Teal'c have been doing the same thing. They're watching me from across the table, little extra glances even while they're in the middle of an explanation of something or a funny story. I notice Cassie's doing it too, and I wonder if we've taught her that, or if it's just another reflection of her mother. Somewhere along the line, I lose the thread of the conversation entirely.

The next thing I know, I'm walking with Jack holding on to one side of me, and Teal'c holding on to the other. I can see Cassie and Sam in front of me, arm in arm. Jack's quietly telling me something about getting me back to Dr. Lam.

* * *

I could have sworn I turned the TV off. Those damn voices are back. I give a grunt as I try to turn over and find the remote until I feel the pull of something in my arm. I know that feeling. I'm hooked up to an IV. If I'm hooked up to an IV, I must be in the infirmary. With a groan, I flop back on the pillows. I don't have any recollection of getting to the infirmary. Yes I do. I remember something about Carolyn's car and my head in Vala's lap. I groan again.

"Hey, you okay?"

I open my eyes to see Jack sitting beside me. He's got his hand on my arm rubbing it absentmindedly, and he looks worried.

I clear my throat and try to talk. Jack immediately passes me a cup with ice chips which he holds for me while I chew on some. I swallow again and clear my throat.

"You okay?" Jack asks again.

This time my voice works. "Yeah, I'm fine." And I am. I feel much better than I did before. My sore throat's almost gone, and my chest feels much lighter. I'm still tired, but that's to be expected. I can see Jack looking skeptical.

"No, really. I feel much better," I tell him.

"And the groan?" Jack asks.

"What? Oh, I think I remember something about falling asleep on Vala in the car."

"Ah, yes, I understand," Jack says and then he smiles. "I had her searched when she got back to the base. I think she was clean."

"Did you check her purse?"

"Damn! Knew I forgot something. We'll if your cutlery is missing, let me know and we'll search her room."

I laugh. With a big stretch I try to work out some of the kinks in my muscles. I feel stiff, except for the muscles in my chest which are a little sore from all the coughing. I hold up my arm to Jack. "What's this?"

"Antibiotics and a couple of other miracle drugs. Pneumonia isn't something to mess with."

"I suppose not," I say, looking at the IV line snaking out of my arm. Then I dismiss it. "So, how was shopping? Did you guys have fun without me."

"We loaded Cassie up with all the useless school supplies she could possibly want. Carter even sprang for some fancy, expensive calculator." Jack goes on to regale me with stories of the four of them in the mall. It seems Teal'c scared some poor store owner so much after he forgot the two for one special that he ended up throwing in a half a dozen free notebooks for free just to get them out of the store. By this time, Jack's hit the button to lift up the head of the bed and I settle comfortably in to listen to the stories. Carolyn comes by to give me the once over and ask a few questions, and then I'm back to the story. I'm trying to find out what kind of goofy shoes Cassie ended up with this year. I don't think anything's going to top the lime green Cons that Teal'c got her, but I'd like to know. Jack grins and agrees the Cons were hard to beat.

He tells me they ended up back at Sam's for dinner, and Cassie cooked for all of them. I feel a sense of regret that I didn't get to be there. I know Cassie's in college and able to take care of herself, but it doesn't seem like she should be old enough to cook. I can imagine them all in Sam's kitchen, laughing and joking while they peeled vegetables or set the table, and I didn't get to help. I'm wondering what happened to the little girl of so long ago.

"Wait a minute," I ask, "what time is it?" If they went back to Sam's for dinner it must be the middle of the night by now. "Shouldn't you be getting some sleep. You've got a plane to catch in the morning."

"Plane's come and gone," Jack says stretching his legs out in front of him. "I thought I'd hang around for a couple more days."

Generals in the Air Force don't just "hang around" for a couple of days. Jack's stayed because of me. "Gone? What time is it," I ask again.

"About 1600," he tells me, looking at his watch.

Sixteen hundred. That means... "I slept for a whole day."

"That you did," Jack says. "And you're on medical leave for at least a week."

"What!" I can't be on medical leave for a week. "I've got that translation for SG9 on my desk..." I'm so upset that I start coughing again. Jack's on his feet with his hand rubbing my back, and I can hear him talking to Carolyn.

"He'll be fine, General. Give the antibiotics a couple of days to do their job."

"I should have let you drag him back to the infirmary yesterday," Jack says.

"I don't think a couple of hours was really going to make a difference, sir," she assures him. "You know if I'd thought he was in any danger, I would have dragged him back here no matter what you said."

By the time I stop coughing, I'm too tired to continue my tirade.

"We gave SG9 another mission until you're on your feet," Jack tells me, sitting back in the chair. "And I've had another long talk with Hank about your hours."

Another long talk? How many have he and General Landry had? "Jack, SG9's mission was important. They got intel about--"

"And it will still be there when you're ready to look at it." Jack holds up his hand to stop my protests. He stands again, coming to the side of my bed so that he's right in front of me where I can see him. "Yes, Daniel, I know it's important. Yes, Daniel, I know all about the intel. But no mission is important enough to put you in the hospital."

His hand is on my arm in that familiar gesture of comfort. He's looking at me seriously, all joking put aside for the moment. I realize he's worried about me and that I've scared him. Again.

"So, you're going to be in town a couple of days?" I acquiesce as gracefully as I can.

Jack smiles. "Looks like."

"You think we can get breakfast before you go?"

"Depends on how well you behave," Jack says with a laugh. "I don't think Dr. Lam's going to let you go anytime soon."

"I'll do my best to be out of here by tomorrow," I say. And I will. I can behave myself if I have to. If not, cafeteria food's not that bad as long as I'm in good company.

"I'm sorry I missed saying goodbye to Cassie," I say wistfully, thinking of all the fun I missed yesterday. "Maybe I'll call her this evening."

"Yeah," Jack says with a pat on my shoulder. He walks away from the bed and starts fiddling with the things left lying around in the infirmary. I sometimes wonder how the man got to be a general. Still, there's something nice about Jack driving the nurses nuts in his usual way. I can see them glaring at him from across the room. Carolyn comes by and neatly takes the bag of saline out of his hands and puts it back on the table.

"You've got some company Dr. Jackson," she tells me. "Do you think you're up to it."

Up to it? I'd been wondering what had happened to the rest of the team. I figured Carolyn had kept them out—or thrown them out—while I was asleep, except for Jack, of course. "I'd love some company."

Sam and Teal'c are the first people through the door, with Vala and Mitchell right behind them. Vala gives me a big hug. Teal'c gives me the Jaffa handshake. Mitchell settles for a more normal handshake. And Sam's got a kiss on the cheek and cookies. God, I love that woman. We've exchange greetings, and everyone's been brought up to speed on my medical condition. I've had the thought that I should just post it on the door of the infirmary to make it easier because everyone and their uncle seems to want to know how I am. Then I remember how lucky I am in my friends. Everyone's found a chair or a stool or something and made themselves comfortable. We talk a little more about the shopping expedition, and Sam promises to take Vala to that mall to some store (which I gather sells some exclusive perfume) the next time they go out on one of their shopping sprees. About the time the cookies have been distributed (Sam's promised to bring me more tomorrow) I look up toward the door. The room has gone suddenly silent.

It's silent because Cassie's standing in the doorway. Oh my god. She's dressed to the nines with an outfit that makes her look nothing like the little girl we found eight years ago. She's got a flimsy midnight blue dress on, one that from her conservative uncle's point of view shows far too much shoulder and...other things. And then I really look at her. She's stunning. A beautiful woman standing in the doorway with an exquisite dress, lovely delicate jewelry, and an outrageously high pair of high heeled shoes. My little girl—our little girl—has gone and grown up on us.

I can feel the tears in my eyes. As I take a deep breath to talk, I can feel Jack's hand come to rest on my shoulder. "I thought you'd already left," I say to her. It's not at all what I want to say, but it's all that comes out.

She's still standing in the doorway. "I...um...stayed an extra day," she says quietly.

"I'm glad." I am. I'm so glad she stayed.

"I knew you'd want to know how the shopping trip went."

"I did. I do." I can't seem to say anything else. She's so lovely standing there. Even against the backdrop of the gray walls of the SGC, she looks like an angel.

"They finally let me buy high heels," she says with a small smile.

Finally? I want to ask her if she remembers the dressing down she gave me when I fist suggested heels but I decide against it. Honestly, I never had anything like this in mind.

"I wanted to know if they were okay," she says, "before I left."

I can hear the uncertainty in her voice. She's my little girl on the cusp of womanhood and she needs her family to tell her if it's okay for her to grow up. I put out my arms to her. "Come here," I tell her.

She's across the room and in my arms in seconds. I can feel her tears on my neck and I know I'm not dry-eyed myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Sam crying. Vala's laughing and crying at the same time, wiping her face on Mitchell's shirt. He's yelling at her to find a Kleenex and leave his shirt alone. Teal'c's holding out the box of tissues for the two women, and I'm thinking he doesn't look all that dry-eyed himself.

A minute later, Cassie's sitting cross-legged on my bed, with her new shoes in my lap for me to see. She's grabbed the last cookie from the bag, and Jack's trying to take a bite of it while she bats him away. Everybody's laughing and talking again. Vala wants to know where they bought the shoes because she's got an outfit that would be complete with a pair just like it. Mitchell reminds her that she can't wear them to work.

I can see Carolyn standing off to one side watching all that's been going on. I know she's about to shoo everyone out of the infirmary. She can see that I'm starting to get tired. Jack, too, has been watching me carefully and he sees the same thing.

I know Jack's going to say something so I pull Cassie in for one last hug. "You're mom would be so proud of you," I whisper in her ear.

She gives me a big squeeze back. "I'll call you tomorrow," she promises, "and I'll be home for Christmas." She gives me one last kiss on the cheek before she jumps off the bed, her new shoes in one hand and a half eaten cookie in the other. "Love you, Uncle Daniel."

Everyone's on their way out the door, still talking. They shout their goodbye's and tell me they'll be back in the morning, except for Cassie who has classes. Jack's the last one left. Carolyn's given him "the look" before she walks away, letting him know that he has to leave as well.

"Did you ask her to stay?" I want to know.

"Nope, she insisted."

That makes feel good right down to the bottom of my toes. I grin. "So, high heels, huh?"

"Wasn't my idea," Jack says with a grin of his own.

"She's beautiful," I say, stating the obvious.

"Yes, she is," Jack agrees. Then he stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Well, Dr. Lam's about to throw me out."

I know he doesn't want to leave. "I'm fine," I assure him. "More than fine now." So much more than fine. That wonderful little girl came to see me and left in the company of friends.

"Good," Jack says with a nod.

"I'll see you for breakfast in the morning?"

"Breakfast it is," he agrees. "I'll even smuggle in good coffee."

I'm on the edge of sleep, still hearing my friends around me talking and laughing, still seeing Cassie in that dress and those shoes. Not even my memories of ascension match this. I can feel Jack's hand on my shoulder just before I fall asleep.

"Then it's a date."


End file.
